"Hailey!" A voice screamed after me, it was trying to catch me, but it can not. "Hailey!" It cried again, I kept running. Drowning out the voice.
You can not run for ever, the voice in my head told me.
Not forever, but close to it. I replied back to it. The voice was right, I don't think I even got five miles before my foot hooked on the uneven pavement and I fell on my knee.
Get up! The voice in my head yelled.
No, I replied to it. I just want to sit, whoever it is that the real voice belongs to can find me. "Hailey..." They said out of breath, I look up and meet his gray eyes. "Leave me alone." I mumble. But he helps me to my feet anyway, and I see Sunset Valley. Different, modern. Lost of it's old charm. Beaten down and remolded. "Look what I've got," Warren said, holding out a folder to me. I take it gently take it into my hands, and slide open the cover. A gasp catches in my throat, "What?" Sheets, full of names and dates and information. The first one makes my jaw drop.
Name: Kayla Salt New Name: Ayala Salt
Housing: The Old Alto House Spouse: Tommy Wendell
Age: 23 3/5"So Ayala is Kayla?" Warren nods, " Read the next one."
Name: Benjamin Pole New Name: Benji Pole
Housing: Old Jolina House Spouse: Julie Thompson
Age: 23 7/12 They are five other sheets in the folder."So, are they alive?" I ask, fingers crossed. "It appears so." He says, grinning, slightly. "Then lets go see them." I remember Jamie, she was nice I guess. Her house was down the street from mine, my second home. I lead Warren, and we stare wide eyed at all the changes. We get glances as well, I guess we look out of place. Or should be in school. I hesitate at the front door of the house. I am used to running up and the door being open, Jamie making cookies or reading a book. But Jamie isn't alive and no longer lives here, Benjamin does. I press the button before I can chicken out. The door swings open, Julie stands smiling. She looks older, she isn't a teen. She's at least twenty by the looks. "Hailey?" She ask, I nod. She throws her arms around me, I was never never one for hugs. But I let Julie hug me. "Who's at the door?" Benjamen's voice asks. "Why don't you come and see!" She says. Benjamen comes and stares wide eyed at us. "Warren? Hailey?" He asks, looking confused. I nod and he comes and man hugs Warren. Julie invites us inside. "What happened to you guys? How did you get out?" I ask, I want answers, I need them. She bounces on the balls of her feet, something Julie has always done. "Why don't I call them and we can tell you all together?" I nod and she flips her phone out of her pocket. She makes a few calls, saying "Just come over, quick!". Soon many people stand in their living room, hugging us. We all sit on the furniture that Benjamen and Warren arranged.
"So, " Sophie says nervously. How are you?" I almost say fine, but I don't. Because I am not fine, I am a emotional wreak. Warren just shrugs his shoulders and his eyes meet mine, I hope he saw my eyes thanking him. Kayla stares at us, her face is cold, with a hidden emotion. Guilt. Suddenly, I'm on my feet. I don't remember deciding to do that. "You," I say pointing at Kayla. "You lied to us." My voice sounds hurt, because I am hurt. "I didn't want to lie." Kayla says softly. "Yeah sure," Then Kayla is on her feet. "I had to!" She yells. " I couldn't say that I was Kayla in front of Dale and Becky.
"Well, Shirley's sitting over there. You told her, right?" I glance at Shirley, she looks hurt and confused, two feeling I have been having a lot and come to know. She glares at her mother. "Mommy!" She yells standing up. "You told me you weren't Kayla! You lied to me! I....I.....I hate you!" She screamed. She ran out the back door, Kayla made no move to follow her. "See what you have done?" I ask her, turning on my heal and following Shirley. She's standing near the back of the fence, her face turned away from the house. She looks over her shoulder to see me, her face softens and she wipes away the tears from her eyes. "I can't believe my mom lied to me,". "I can't believe it either." I stand next to her and put my arm around her shoulders awkwardly. I don't know how to comfort her. But I guess it helps because she sniffles back tears. "Thank you." she tells me. "For what?" "For making my mom tell the truth. Sure it made me cry, but now I know." She's one tough little girl, I would still be crying. Either that or a sixteenth of the way to Bridgeport. "You are a brave little girl and smart too." I tell her, I don't know why I said it. I don't even know if it's true, but it feels like the right thing to say. Eventually, I bring her back inside. Warren looks and me and mouths, "Are you guys okay?" I nod and sit next to him, Shirley"s eyes seem to spit fire at Kayla. She comes to sit down on my lap. Everyone stares at Shirley, and she shrinks back to me. "Shirley," Kayla starts to say. "I don't care." Shirley says. "Leave me alone." She puts her head against my shoulder, I put my arms around her and rock back and forth a little. "Now, I, we, have told you our journey. Tell us yours." Warren says. They all look at each other, as if deciding whether to tell him. "I don't have all day" Warren says impatiently.
Sophie starts. "Well, we found your letter, the one Hailey wrote. We decided to come after you guys. So we prepared to leave. We packed what ever we wanted to bring and what we needed. Then we opened up the doors and we were greeted with fog. The fog was cold and it twisted it's way around and around. It was cold, freezing. Scary and uninviting. But we continued anyway. We decided to leave, so we were leaving. I don't know how far we walked, it seemed like forever, Is till feel the fog." She whispers. Julie picks up where she left off. " We walked fro a very long time, when we came to a spot where the air seemed freer and the fog moved a bit more. When we heard a voice. A chilling, sends chills up your body, voice. Then we saw her, at the far end of the room. Smiling at us.
She was clothed in white, from head to two, it seemed she emerged from the fog itself. The only color was her blood red lips. 'Hello children.' She said grinning, a grin of hate and loathing. 'It seems you found a way to escape. How clever you are! Just. How. Clever.' She spit out the words. Then she grinned again. "In a moment, I will be gone. You will be left, a door will apear. And you will continue one. Ruining my plANS.' She turned away from us, walked and disappeared into the fog.
We stood there, gasping. But true to her word, a door appeared and we went through it. We were all immediate thrown to the ground. Sitting up, dazed, we all realized we were in front of the school. Then another lady appeared. But her voice was sweet, she smiled at us. But it seemed to pain her.
She was clothed in black. Her eys were black. 'You made it out,' she said with her pained smile. 'Good, that's good.' Then she handed us a folder, 'Take this, read it, learn, live by it. Then hide it. It will help you fit in. Best of luck.' And she was gone. Disappeared into the night. So we followed the instructions in the folder. Then hid it."
"Not good enough!" Kayla said annoyed, "Because
they found it." I ignored her. "How long have you been here?" I ask.
"Six years....."
Hope you liked the update! Feel free to comment and tell me what you think!
